Passing this one on from my friend Nancy.

May 5: New Moon in Taurus

The new Moon is always a time of beginnings, so whether you pursue a dream goal or launch into a project -- start something! The Moon increases in light between waxing and waning, so put energy into things that you want to become stronger and more important in your life. Because this new Moon is in earthy Taurus, do what you can to feel physically comfortable, whether you make a plan to save money, vow to treat your possessions more kindly (how clean is your car?), tune in to nature, or formulate values that accurately reflect where you are now in your life. Making a tangible, practical investment in your life can really pay off this month.

Found an enclave of these recently and took some photos. I had no idea what they were, but they stopped me in my tracks when I saw them

From www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/herbo...ne.asp
Wood Anemone
(Anemone nemorosa)
Flowering months: March to May
Habitat: Normally found in shady deciduous woodlands.
Special features: Most of the year this plant is hidden from view. It has no foliage, and looks just like a lumpy root (known as a 'rhizome') in the soil. Then at the end of February it bursts into life, sending up deeply lobed leaves, and flowering until May.
It is a member of the buttercup family. The flowers of the wood anemone are a little unusual, in that they have no petals, only sepals, which are white in colour. These are known as primitive flowers.

Folk Names: Hexenblum (German), Kopfschmerzblum (German) Smell Fox, Wind Flower, Wind Crowfoot, Wood Crowfoot
The wood anemone has a long, tough, creeping wood-stock running just below the ground. It is the quick growth of this root system that causes the rapid spread of this plant, forming huge colonies in the moist soil of woods and thickets. Wood anemone is one of the earliest spring flowers. Like other anemones, wood anemone has a three lobed leaf just below each flower. These leaves are often so divided that it appears to have more than three leaflets. This leaf wraps around the flower bud protectively until it is ready to open, at which time the flower stalk lengthens to carry it above its protector. The flower itself is not attractive to nor does it require the fertilization by insects and has no scent. As in all anemones, the flower has no true petals, but instead sports modified sepals which assume the coloring and characteristics of petals. These are six in number, pure white near the top and pale rose closer to the stem. The flower opens wide in the light of day, but closes up as night approaches and droops to protect itself from dew. It also does this if rain threatens.
Wood anemone is susceptible to certain fungal infections. Puccinia causes the stalks of infected leaves to grow rapidly, high above its brethren, while the leaves dwindle and tend to lose their divisions. A species of Sclerotinia attacks the swollen tubers of the root. In the spring when the flowers would arise, fruiting bodies of sclerotinia rise in their place.
Effects:
Planet: Mars
Element:
Associated Deities: Adonis, Anemos/Eurus, Aphrodite/Venus,
Traditions:
The origin legend for wood anemone is the same as for all anemones.
“Where streams his blood there blushing springs a rose
And where a tear has dropped, a windflower blows.”
They sprang up from Aphrodite's tears as she cried over Adonis’ death. Wood anemone is called the Flower of Death in China, and it was an emblem of ill health in ancient Egypt. Areas of Europe also associated the flower with misfortune, though other country-folk considered it a fairy hideaway mainly due to its habit of folding up for the night and in inclement weather. Whether the bad luck arose from fear of disturbing fairies or from the fact that the plant is poisonous and cattle have died from ingesting it is unclear.
The name Windflower comes from the belief that it will only open in the windy Month of March.
“Coy anemone that ne’er uncloses
Her lips until they’re blown on by the wind.”
And the Greeks believed the flower was a gift from the wind god Anemos (or Eurus), sent to herald his coming in spring.
Magic:
The Romans believed that the first flower of the season should be plucked as a charm against fever. Until recent times, it was gathered while saying "I gather this against all diseases." It was then tied around an invalid's neck. It may be added to rituals of healing or added to a bath. Anemone’s connections to legend of Adonis’s end also make it useful in rituals of death, dying, passing.

As a flower of a wind god, anemone may be used to invoke air elementals. Offerings may be made of the flowers, powdered wood or bark as incense, and it may be infuse into oil for use in anointing candles. It may also be used as offerings to the small creatures of faery.

Medical Indications: Parts Used : root, leaves, juice


Like all members of the anemone family, wood anemone is poisonous and should not be used unless you absolutely know what you are doing. Its qualities are the same as found for Anemone.
Nutrition:
not edible

Mercantile Uses:
Like other anemones, wood anemone is suitable for rock gardens.

This from a astrologer friend of mine, and I really wish I had read it the other day. :) My current challenge in life seems to be about not letting my emotions get away with me, something that is hard for a empath at times, picking up other peoples stuff.:

"Ruler of communication, Mercury's placement can affect our internal thought patterns, the way we interact with others, and even Internet correspondence (as in Mercury Retrograde). With Mercury in Aries, communication may take on sharp, inventive tendencies of the Ram. You could find yourself able to put your ideas to good use (especially if you're an Aries!).
Just be careful not to exaggerate - or fall for the exaggerations of others!"

It will be interesting to see what the new Moon in Aries brings.

This article resonated deeply with me and through me, so I'm sharing.


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We live in a society where only "big success" is acknowledged. We don't care about the small steps. We don't hear about the stumbles. Yet it takes outrageous courage to be in the middle of your journey. The middle is where it's at, baby.



Maybe you're growing a new business, writing the book of your dreams, or healing from a necessary divorce. These are the times when alligators are nipping at your raw feet, the rain keeps beating down, the moon is fading, your mother is calling, and you wonder if you are going to age in poverty with hopes that never came true. Yep, these are the moments that need celebration.



These are the times we need applause and ribbons and massive hot fudge sundaes and witnesses to our magnificence. These are the times we must love ourselves through the hunger and exhaustion. These are the times when we must celebrate our courage, the power, belief, and stubborn pluck it demands to just keep lurching and wobbling forward.



Please give yourself the benefit of true perspective. Do not reject yourself for "not being there yet," wherever that great "there" is for you. You are on the path. You are on the path. You are on the path. The path begins wherever you are, when you embrace your life with honesty, patience, and compassion.



Don't join that dismal bandwagon of thieves, those silly addle-brained fools in the streets who only believe in the gods of People magazine, or the ones who believe that it's more successful to just tack things together than to be naked on the path of pursuing your truth. Don't accept the measurements of those who uphold flawed and obsolete standards. Do not borrow knowledge from the ones who do not dare. The ones who dare---absolutely know the pain of being in the middle of things. If you're life is unsettled, imperfect, unpredictable, wild at the core, stuck, or yet to "come together," congratulations. You're one of the awakening tribe. You're in the stream of being holy alive.



I spent 12 plus years writing "This Time I Dance! Creating the Work You Love", without an agent, publisher, or writing mentor in sight. I spent years feeling bad because I wasn't done with it. I watched others whiz by in their perfect neat lives, crisp definitions, and big fat paychecks and I felt foolish, foolish because I was in the middle of things. I faced self-doubt every day, but I chose self-love in the end. I decided to stay true to myself even if that looked as though I would walk for years through the deep blue sea. I wanted to follow my own instincts, hold my own hand, and see where that led me in the end. It's led me here, a time in my life where I am so unbelievably grateful for all those essential "middle moments," all those experiences that shaped me, fed me, grew me, and made me what I am---and what I have always been meant to be. In This Time I Dance!, I said, "It takes a hero's journey to create a hero," and I'll say it again. Those middle moments are our ashrams, boot camps, graduate schools, and launch pads. They are anything but useless, empty, or ordinary.



The middle of things is where change takes place, where the great big barge of how things have always been turns around in the ocean and goes a new way. It's slower than a long red light, but it doesn't take place forever.



The real heroes are in the middle of things, sweating in the middle of the night alone, doubting the future, crying the tears of self-doubt, burning holes in the ground with their mad desire to flee. Celebrate these ones, the ones who are making choices right now that others will not see. Celebrate these ones who dare to make uncelebrated choices. Celebrate yourself, right now as though you are the biggest winner of all time, because you are dear one, you are. You are sticking with the wonderful and terrible confusion of creating an authentic life.



Bestselling author Pema Chodron, a beloved Buddhist nun, says, "To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again." And Deepak Chopra, tells us to look at times of process as "pure potentiality."-- I think "pure potentiality" sounds like a destination spa resort, and so much zestier than a "big fat zero," or "swamp." I suggest you try on language like that that empowers you. Remember, those "pure potentiality" times are when we make our life's most significant choices. It's where we craft, envision, and realize our future.



This month I'd love you to truly celebrate the experience of being in the middle of things. Write yourself a letter of congratulations or buy yourself a small token of appreciation at this juncture, a totem of support. While you're at it, celebrate someone else who is in the middle of their evolving lives as well. We all know someone in the thick of a break up, a layoff, an illness, or someone who had their manuscript rejected or their contract cancelled, someone whose circumstances are pushing them to a new and uncomfortable edge of being.



Let's clap for all the winners, now, the winners who are on their way, the winners who are not yet recognized, the winners who are walking through the desert, the winners who are allowing themselves to win at last, and those who are even boldly allowing themselves to "lose," because they know they will never lose by staying true to their souls.



I want you to know that I celebrate you all in my heart. I am so moved by your dogged steps forward, your hungry self-inquiry, your shaky new belief in possibilities and your emerging commitment to your own inspired life. You are the brave ones, the alive ones, the ones who deserve medals right now.



Yours in the dance,
Tama
©Copyright 2007 Tama J. Kieves. All rights reserved.


http://www. awakeningartistry. com

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I left an offering out last night to the forest guardians. Usually it is the Ravens and Crows that come for it. It was a Wild turkey Carcass, a casualty of the road that I left out for them to return it to the land. This morning it was gone...completely. Investigating I found that what ever it was had dug out a good chunk of the earth with its claws around the area. So I have some large carnivores in my back yard. Could be a few things, but I offer this as food for thought..
As a pagan practicing an earth centered spirituality I feel it is important f to develop a connection with nature and increase our awareness of the local flora and fauna. As many of us know, animal sightings can be oracular, in dreams and in real life, so knowing what is out there is good.
I myself was treated this weekend to a flight of 5 Turkey Vultures, a Kestrel and a pair of birds that were definitively Ravens, riding the thermals up at table rock.
During the short but fun exploration of my friend Lady Morgana’s property a discussion’s came up about possible wolf sightings in this area. I found part of a reference to what I was mentioning about this online, so here you are...Wolfs in the north east. I still want to find the bit from the Suny New Paltz Bio Dep that has been doing studies.
Here you go...
Gray wolf’s origins in northeast remain a mystery
By Gene Chague
Article Last Updated: 03/16/2008 05:10:06 AM EDT

Sunday, March 16
LENOX

Over the last few years, several readers have reported seeing a gray wolf in the Otis, Sandisfield and Monterey areas. In most cases, I politely suggested that perhaps they were seeing large coyotes or perhaps a wolf-dog which may have escaped from captivity. But at least one person absolutely refused to accept that explanation, citing that the color, size and howls were different. As he put it "you think the coyote howls are something, you should hear the wolf’s. It stands the hair up on the back of your neck."

When the gray wolf was shot by the farmer in Shelbourne last year, a possible explanation was given by some experts that the animal may have escaped from captivity somewhere. After all, they aren’t supposed to be around here any more because they were eradicated by the settlers in the 19th century. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department stated that they found nothing to indicate that it was held in captivity.

This got me thinking about those above-mentioned reports. I got back to one reader, Lauren Sartori of Great Barrington, and asked her what she thought about the recent revelation. She said that "it confirms what several of us have thought .....more www.berkshireeagle.com/genech...8590537

And more freenewhampshire.blogspot.com/200...html